Give and Take
by Tomboy 601
Summary: Wally finally gets the chance to date the girl of his dreams, but when his new girlfriend gets more and more demanding, who can save Wally as his life takes a downward spiral into hopelessness? A look into the role of the victim in an emotionally abusive relationship. Takes place in the Justice League cartoon universe. Warnings inside.
1. The Spider and the Fly

Author's Note: My first fic since 2015! It's been a long time, everyone!

Disclaimer: I don't own Justice League.

Warnings: This story is about an emotionally abusive relationship and everything that goes with it. Warnings include, but are not limited to, emotional abuse, implied rape by coercion, language, and domestic violence.

Wally didn't meet her at a club. Or a bar. Or even a restaurant. No, he met her for the first time in high school. Blonde, busty, and drop dead gorgeous; that was Madison Morello in a nutshell. She was the most popular girl in school. Needless to say, Wally never had a chance with her.

But now things were different. Wally had seen her at the store and offered to carry her bags to her car during a downpour. She had laughed and given him her number after all the bags were safely in her trunk.

"Call me sometime," Madison had said to him.

So here he was, standing in front of a mini golf course on a bright sunny day waiting for her to show up. " _Is that her car? No, Madison's car is red,_ " Wally thought to himself. He smacked a mosquito that had just landed on his arm. A few minutes later, a red Honda pulled into the parking lot and parked neatly in the middle of a space not that far from the entrance. A woman with wavy blonde hair wearing a white T shirt and jeans got out of the car. She perked up when she saw Wally standing there and walked up to him.

"Hey, I'm glad you decided to show," Madison said by greeting.

"Was there ever any doubt?" Wally teased.

"Of course not." Madison said. "Let's go."

The two walked into the entrance building of the mini golf course. Madison was going to pay for both of them – she had insisted. Wally looked at the golf balls disinterestedly. It was always a challenge to pick the right color golf ball. Should he pick yellow or red?

"Hey, hurry up and pick your ball," Madison's voice broke him out of this thoughts.

"Huh, oh right," Wally responded.

He glanced over and saw that Madison was holding a hot pink golf ball. As Wally reached for a red golf ball, Madison suddenly interrupted.

"No, pick a different color. Red is too close to pink," Madison said.

"They're not that similar," Wally said.

"Just pick a different color," Madison demanded.

Wally was surprised by the sudden change of personality, but figured that Madison was just really adamant about having the only derivative of red. Wally selected a yellow ball instead.

As they entered the mini golf area, Wally noticed that there were actually two mini golf courses. One was for beginners and the other was for more advanced golfers. Wally was good at many things, but golf, mini or otherwise, was not one of them.

"Let's play the beginner course," he suggested.

"Nah, that's for retards," Madison responded while walking towards the advanced course.

"That's a really rude thing to say," Wally said, trying to hide his shock at such a casual use of the word.

"What? Oh, only social justice warriors care about that word," Madison said dismissively. "You're not a social justice warrior, are you?"

Wally knew he should have left right then or there, but the way she walked in her casual shorts overrode the thought. He did find it offensive, but his work in the Justice League had him fairly accustomed to it.

Madison smiled and said, "Come on, let's play!"

Wally had to resist the temptation to use his speed to put the ball in the hole. It took him multiple tries to hit the ball with just the right amount of speed to get it into the hole. Madison made hole in ones look easy. Why did he agree to play while keeping score? By the end of the course, Wally got the feeling that Madison was jumping for joy in her mind.

"You should improve your game," Madison said, laughing.

"I'll beat you next time," Wally retorted as he suppressed a pang of jealousy.

Wally walked her to her car, dropping off their clubs at the entrance along the way. Madison thanked him as she got into her car.

"Are you free on Tuesday?" She asked.

"Sorry, I've got work that day," Wally answered. This was true, he had League work all day that day.

"How about Sunday?" Madison persisted.

"Yeah, I'm free all day Sunday," Wally answered with a smile.

"All right. I'll see you Sunday," She declared. Madison closed the car door and drove away.

Less than two seconds later, thunder cracked in the sky and a rain came pouring down. _"Figures. It's been getting cloudy."_ Wally thought. He walked to the bus stop and then he flickered and disappeared.

Over the next few months, Wally and Madison got to know each other very well. They spent all their free time together doing whatever came to their minds. Madison's strange insistence to pay for everything continued to baffle Wally. While it was true that he had no spending money because of his high metabolism, he expected to have to pay sometimes. It was almost like she wanted him to feel like he was indebted to her.

Wally and Madison were at the zoo today. It was cloudy with a chance of rain, so most of the animals were in their indoor enclosures. Wally was a little disappointed that he couldn't see any of the bears or big cats. Spotting the reptile house, Wally called out to Madison.

"Hey, you want to go see the snakes?"

"No," Madison said coldly.

Wally was surprised by her cold tone and the sudden change in her demeanor.

"Okay, how about the bird house?" Wally asked.

"Yeah, sure!" Madison cheered up instantly at the idea of seeing the birds.

Almost an hour later, Wally and Madison were standing at the front gate of the zoo when Madison told him that she had something to say.

"You know, Wally, I kind of like you. I want to date you officially," Megan confessed, a blush creeping onto her face.

Wally was taken aback by her confession because he had also developed feelings for her.

"I want to date you, too." He said.

Madison leaned in and kissed him on the cheek before getting into her car and leaving while Wally stood there blushing.

It was like the fly caught in the spider's web.

Author's Note: End chapter one.


	2. Sweet Like Vinegar

Author's Note: I don't think _Give and Take_ will be a very long story. Maybe five chapters at the most with around one thousand words per chapter.

Disclaimer: I don't own Justice League.

After only a month of dating, Madison started asking about other activities they could do. Private, intimate activities. This made Wally a little nervous because he never slept with a girl in the first few months of dating.

"If we can't do anything now, then when can we?" Madison asked, annoyance lacing her tone.

"Look, I'm just not ready for that yet," Wally answered.

"How about you just let me look. I won't touch," Madison persisted.

"No, I don't want that right now," Wally said.

"It won't hurt anything. I just want to look at it," Madison insisted.

"I already said no. Can't you respect that?" Wally said.

He felt like screaming. Madison had brought up the idea every day for a week now and it always ended the same way. She would get mad, leave, and ignore his attempts to contact her for a few hours. Then she would call him and apologize, promise not to do it again, and they would make up. It was a vicious cycle.

"I'm hungry. Let's go get something to eat," Madison suggested, finally dropping the topic.

They went to Denny's. The food was cheap, but it was pretty good. Wally always got the same burger meal while Madison got something different every time.

"So, do you want to go shopping later?" Madison asked.

"Um, okay, but I can't buy anything," Wally answered.

"That's okay, I'll buy it and you can pay me back when you get the money," Madison said cheerfully.

Wally didn't see anything wrong with this. He was always good at paying back his debts. It never took him that long to find the money to buy some used shirt at the thrift store. Since almost all of his money went to food, Wally had taken to shopping at thrift stores and flea markets to find street clothes and other necessities. He was always surprised at the cheap prices in places like that.

Once they finished their meal, Wally and Madison headed to her car. Madison drove around for a while so they could just talk before pulling into the parking lot of the biggest mega mall Wally had ever seen.

Walking into the mall, Wally noticed that the prices were insanely high just for a shirt. It wasn't even a fancy shirt. Heck, it wasn't even a designer shirt. It was just a shirt. A shirt that Wally suspected he bought from a flea market over a year ago for five bucks. _"How can they possibly justify charging fifty dollars for just a regular shirt?"_ Wally thought.

"Oh, do you like that?" Madison said with a smile. "Here, I'll get it for you. Just pay me back whenever."

Over the course of their shopping trip, Madison bought hundreds of dollars worth of make up and clothes, but Wally was more interested in the books at a high price bookstore.

"Do you want this book?" Madison asked.

Yes, he really did. But Wally was more than a little put off by the almost triple digit price. There was no way he could afford to pay back both the shirt and the book. Madison took his silence as a yes and added it to the shopping cart.

"You can pay me back," she said.

"No, I can't afford it," Wally said, "I can't go over budget."

"So?" Madison said, "Just pay me back. It doesn't matter how long it takes. Besides, I'll buy this for you as a gift."

Wally wondered how the book could be a gift if he had to pay her back.

As they were leaving the mega mall, Wally saw a new video game that had just come out for the PlayStation 4. He had been waiting for this game for a long time. He just wanted to look at the game and maybe fantasize a little when Madison pulled him roughly by the arm. Startled, he pulled his arm away.

"What was that for?" He demanded.

"I hate Sony," Madison said fiercely, "I hope they go out of business."

"But you never had a problem with me playing on my PlayStation before," Wally said.

"No, I hated that, too. I think you should set your PS4 on fire. Hey, we could do that and post it online. Like that one YouTube star!" Madison said.

"What? No, I'm not doing that. I spent a lot of money on my PS4," Wally said, not believing what he was hearing.

"Well, you should have gotten an Xbox instead," Madison declared, "Besides, I was just joking about setting it on fire."

Wally wasn't sure if he believed that Madison was actually joking, but he decided to give her the benefit of doubt.

They were silent the rest of the way home. As Wally walked into his apartment, he noticed that Madison was following him.

"Hey, I have work tomorrow, so I can't hang out with you anymore today," Wally explained.

"I want to see it," Madison said simply.

"I thought we went over this already. I don't want to," Wally said.

"But I like it, so you just have to get used to it. Now show it to me," Madison demanded.

Wally hesitated. He really wasn't ready for this. Madison started to cry.

"All I ever do is hurt people," Madison sobbed, "My own boyfriend won't even let me look at him."

Wally wasn't sure what to do. Madison was crying in his doorway and he didn't want the neighbors to see this exchange, especially with the topic she was currently crying about.

"Okay, I'll show you. Just come inside and close the door," Wally said uncertainly.

Madison immediately stopped crying and he led her to his bedroom. He then proceeded to show her what she wanted to see. She reached out to touch with a fascinated look on her face.

"No, you promised you would just look," Wally said as he covered himself up again.

Madison headed for the door.

"See you tomorrow," She said.

"Yeah, see you tomorrow," Wally answered mechanically.

Later, as Wally lay in his bed trying to get to sleep, he couldn't help but feel disgusted with himself for giving in. He considered breaking up with Madison, but he owed her almost one hundred and fifty dollars and it wouldn't be right to break up with someone he owed money to. Right?

Author's Note: I'm not sure if I should up the rating. Let me know if I should in a review!


	3. I Almost Hit A Tree

Author's Note: This chapter finally features the rest of the League!

Disclaimer: I don't own Justice League.

Wally was careful to avoid leaving crumbs on the monitor screen. He didn't know how, but Batman could _always_ tell when he left crumbs on the monitor screen. He didn't even know how Batman knew it was him in the first place. Green Lantern and Superman were away on a mission and since no one else wanted monitor duty, he got stuck with it. Just because he was the youngest of the group doesn't mean he had to do everyone else's job! Heck, J'onn liked monitor duty. Make him do it!

"Just because I enjoy monitor duty does not mean it is all I want to do," J'onn's voice echoed in the acoustics of the room.

Wally choked on the potato chips he was in the middle of chewing.

"Don't sneak up on me like that!" Wally said.

J'onn smirked. Sometimes he truly enjoyed startling Wally when he wasn't paying attention, especially now that he wasn't here that often. Apparently, he had a new girlfriend. J'onn found it strange that he didn't talk about her at all. He decided to ask about her.

"So, how is your girlfriend?" J'onn asked.

Wally froze for a split second and then recovered.

"Fine, why do you ask?" Wally answered stiffly.

"You don't talk about her much," J'onn pressed.

"Everything's fine. Don't worry," Wally said reassuringly.

He wasn't sure how he could fool a mind reader, but he hoped J'onn would just drop it. He did and Wally felt relieved. He didn't want anyone to know what was really going on with Madison. It was embarrassing. Besides, who would believe him? He banished the thoughts from his mind so J'onn wouldn't pick up on them.

Just then, the monitor informed Wally of Superman and Green Lantern's arrival. He dashed out to greet them.

"Hey guys, did you get everyone done okay?" Wally spoke so fast that they could barely understand him.

"Yes, everything went well," Superman answered.

"That's great, I have to go, see you later!" Wally added the last part as he was almost out of the room.

Green Lantern and Superman stared in the direction Wally had run off in.

"I still think there's something he's not telling us," Green Lantern said.

"Let him work it out on his own," Superman said, "I'm sure if he really needed our help, he'd tell us."

Meanwhile, Wally rushed home to his other full time job. Madison. She wanted to be with him every minute of the day of every second of the day. Wally now owed her almost six hundred in "gifts." She simply wouldn't take no for an answer. So every time Wally got paid, he gave her most of his paycheck and she got him more gifts. He distinctly remember the first time he had told her to stop.

"You don't like the gifts I get you? You're so ungrateful!" Madison screamed, "i spend my hard earned money on gifts for you and you don't even thank me for them! You stupid fan! You'll end up a slave to Sony just like those damn Japs!"

Wally had no idea where Sony came into this and found her blatant racism offensive, but he tried to explain that he just didn't have the money to keep paying for gifts. It seemed like Madison was deaf to his every word. Wally ended up telling her to leave.

"I want to look, first. Let me look," Madison replied.

"I don't want to do that. I'll pay for the gifts. Please, just leave," Wally pleaded.

"I had a hard day at work today and you won't even let me look? You should at least give me something!" Madison said angrily.

Madison walked up to him and kissed him. At the same time, she grabbed him through his pants and squeezed as hard as she could. She then bit his lip and stormed out.

Wally hid the pain until Madison was gone. Then he doubled over on the floor. He had never been grabbed like that. He felt violated. For the briefest of seconds, he considered asking the League for help, then dismissed it. He didn't want to look like a loser who couldn't take care of himself.

His phone rang. He looked at the caller ID and saw that it was Madison. Against his better judgment, he answered the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Wally. When I was driving home, I almost hit a tree," Madison said in an oddly subdued voice.

"What? Are you okay? Did the car slip on the streets?" Wally asked. He knew the roads were slick from heavy rain earlier that day.

"No, I was just so angry at you. I just wanted to look. It makes me feel better. I want you to promise me that you'll let me look before I leave from now on," Madison said in that same calm voice.

Wally wasn't sure what to say. He didn't want to, but he didn't want Madison to hurt him again, either. The idea of breaking up with her and asking Batman to help him pay off his debts never crossed his mind.

"I'll let you look for a minute," He offered.

"Five minutes," She said.

"Three minutes," He said, forcefully.

"Okay, three minutes," Madison sounded pleased.

They said their goodbyes and hung up. Wally went to bed.

Wally walked home as slowly as possible. He wished he could stay on the watchtower forever. Madison had him trapped. He couldn't leave until he paid her back and she kept buying him more stuff. He couldn't ask the League for help. They would just laugh at him. Besides, it wasn't like she was abusing him. He didn't have marks or bruises on his body. So there was no reason to ask the League for help.

He walked into his apartment and went straight to the bedroom to lie down. Madison was waiting for him. She cuddled next to him, her arms around his chest. Then her hand moved down. He firmly moved her hand away. A few seconds later, the hand was back down. He pushed it up again.

"Come on, let's have some fun," Madison said.

The idea of Madison hurting or even killing herself fresh on his mind, he didn't resist the third time.

Wally stood near the railroad tracks. It was almost one in the morning. There was no way out. He looked at the tracks. Well, maybe there was one way out. The train was coming. He walked towards the tracks.

"Hey, you there! What are you doing?" A voice yelled from behind him.

He turned to find a police officer looking horrified at what he almost did.

Author's Note: There will be more League interaction in the next chapter.


	4. Intake

Author's Note: This is more of a flashback chapter detailing more of Wally and Madison's relationship.

Disclaimer: I still don't own Justice League.

Truthfully, he was expecting to go to prison after that police officer caught him. They passed the prison. His next thought was some kind of asylum like the kind Bats had in Gotham. Where else would a police car be taking him at night?

He was surprised when the car pulled up to a local hospital. The police officer let him out of the back seat, uncuffed him, and walked him into the emergency room. The officer stopped to talk to the intake nurse, but Wally wasn't really listening. Then he was escorted to a room on the back of the floor. Wally noted that it was in plain view of the nurse's station. The officer left and a guard came and sat on a chair just outside Wally's room.

The guard stayed silent and Wally was starting to get nervous. What did they want from him?

"Am I in trouble?" Wally asked hesitantly.

The guard turned and smiled at him. Wally got the impression that he was trying to be friendly.

"Of course not. We just want to make sure you're okay, that's all," The guard answered in what Wally now realized was an attempt to reassure him.

In that moment, Wally realized that he wasn't going to be walking out of here very easily.

After what seemed like forever, a nurse came in to check his vitals. Afterwards, much to Wally's surprise, a social worker came in to talk to him. The social worker had short black hair and introduced himself as Alex.

"So, I hear you tried to commit suicide by running in front of a train. What caused you to do that?" Alex said.

Wally winced at the memory.

"It was nothing… I'm just having some girl troubles," He answered evasively.

"What kind of girl troubles?" Alex pressed.

Wally stared at the white floor and didn't answer.

"You don't have to tell me, but the sooner you do, the sooner we can get you admitted and start your treatment," Alex said gently while changing the topic.

"...You mean I can't go home?" Wally asked.

"Not for at least seventy-two hours. Don't worry, the psychiatric ward is not some barbaric asylum with padded walls and doors chained shut. This isn't the 1950s anymore. You'll have a room and there are groups every day. You can order your meals from the kitchen and have visitors."

Wally wasn't sure he wanted visitors while in a mental hospital, but it was still better than seeing Madison at home every day.

"If I tell you, will you keep it a secret from my friends?" Wally asked carefully.

"No one here will tell anyone anything if you don't want them to. We will even deny your presence here if you don't want anyone to know."

"It's my girlfriend..." Wally started, then stopped. "Or maybe it's me. She just wants all my attention all the time. She gets really mad when I don't do what she wants. Maybe I'm not good enough for her, I don't know."

"Are you sexually active with your girlfriend?"

"I guess."

"Is the sex consensual?

"It has to be. I mean, I'm always ready, you know? Even when I don't really feel like it, we do it anyway. She gets mad if I don't."

"When you say that she gets mad, what do you mean? Does she hit you? Threaten you?"

"No, none of that."

"Does she threaten herself if you don't do what she wants?"

Wally froze for a fraction of a second.

"Yeah."

"Are you happy in your relationships with her?"

"...No."

"Have you tried breaking up with her?"

"Yes."

"Did she threaten to harm herself when you did?

"...Yes."

"Did you know that threatening to self harm is emotionally abusive?"

Wally glanced up from the floor.

"She's not abusing me," He said simply.

"She will not be allowed to visit you while you're here. Now, there's a bed available upstairs. You can get some sleep there before breakfast..." Alex continued speaking about the rules of the hospital.

Breakfast at seven-thirty. Lunch at noon. Dinner at six. Lights out at ten. Groups were held three times a day and staff would come and get him before each group. No smoking. No alcohol. Visiting hours were between four and eight-thirty.

After everything was explained, Wally found himself standing in front of a door with his name in the nameslot below the name Marcus. The name of his roommate, apparently. It was five in the morning and Wally was now just getting to sleep in a bed he didn't know with a roommate he'd never met. He'd have to get up in two hours for breakfast.

Wally peeked in the room and snuck in as quietly as he could towards the empty bed. He tried to get comfortable, but this bed was hard and the pillow was a little too fluffy. He never thought he's miss the Watchtower monitors; at least those were comfy even if he wasn't supposed to be sleeping there in the first place.

He let his thoughts wander to his friends. He had n doubt that Bats already knew exactly where he was. He was pretty sure no else knew, but he wondered how they would react. J'onn and Diana might not understand. Hawkgirl might, but how would she react? Would Supes and GL think less of him for it?

Wally must have drifted off at some point because the next thing he knew, he was being woken up for breakfast by a nurse. After getting up, he glanced at the empty bed on the other side of the room and noticed a third door in the room. A bathroom. It even came with its own shower! Wally noted that he no longer had his speed, probably because he hadn't eaten in a while. It wouldn't come back until he ate a significant amount of food that this hospital was unlikely to supply, so that was good. With that on his mind, Wally headed out for breakfast.

Author's Note: Wally's speed originally disappeared in some of his early comics and I thought it would be useful here.


	5. Within The Walls

Author's Note: College is taking up all my time…

Disclaimer: I still don't own Justice League.

Pancakes. Wally found pancakes on his breakfast tray. Although he needed considerably more food to bring his speed back, Wally found himself wishing he had more than just _pancakes._

As he was eating, a nurse came up and asked if he wanted to let his friend know he was there.

"Huh?" Wally mumbled, food almost falling out of his mouth as he did.

"Your friend John is on the phone. Do you want us to tell him you're here?"

Seriously? How had Batman figured it out so fast? And told everyone else? Well, the fact that GL was on the phone meant that the League hadn't completely abandoned him.

"Wallace?"

"It's Wally," Wally corrected, "And let him know I'm here."

What was on the schedule for today? Looks like multiple groups and a doctor appointment for a blood draw. _Probably want to make sure I'm not using any drugs._ Wally thought as he looked over the schedule. He was stuck here for seventy two hours, so he might as well get used to it.

First group was art. Wally considered not going. He had no artistic talent. Madison said so and why would she say it if it wasn't true? He almost wished he was back home so he could relax with his PlayStation. As long as Madison wasn't there, anyway. She always yelled at him and called him a deadbeat loser if she caught him playing PlayStation. She only liked Xbox and Nintendo. Wally always had to hide his PlayStation things when she was over or she would burn it.

" _Didn't I tell you not to play on a Sony console?!" Madison screamed, "Well?"_

 _"It was just a portable system, I thought you would be fine with it! Really!" Wally pleaded._

 _"I said never to play on a Sony console! Any console! I don't care how old it is! You'll never get anywhere in life if you don't listen to me, Wally! Playing Sony consoles makes you a slave to the damn japs! You're an idiot if you think otherwise!"_

 _"Hey, what are you doing with that..."_

 _"Setting it on fire to teach you a lesson. Now hold the camera so I can make a psycho girlfriend video."_

 _"What? No! That's mine!"_

 _A small eruption of flames told Wally that his PlayStation Portable had gone to PSP heaven while he stood there holding the camera as his girlfriend addressed the audience of her non existent YouTube channel._

"Wally? Aren't you coming to art?"

Wally turned around to see a man standing there. He was wearing scrubs and had long bandages on his wrists.

"I'm Marcus, your roommate. I heard the nurse talking to you earlier. So, are you coming to art?"

"No," Wally answered. "I have no talent for art. My girlfriend says so."

"Really? I think you might be good at art. Maybe your girlfriend just doesn't appreciate your style."

When Wally didn't look convinced, Marcus added, "Besides, the nurses make you stay in your room until group is over unless you go to them."

Wally didn't want to go to group, but he didn't want to be stuck in his room, either. Time for the lesser of two evils.

"Which way is art?"

When he had gotten the call from Batman about Wally being in a seventy two hour psych hold, Green Lantern had not believed it. Wally didn't seem like the type to end up there. Not to mention that the whole League had been worried about Wally lately and it seemed like even Batman was keeping a closer eye on him.

John knew it had something to do with this girl Wally was dating. He never talked about her. He never smiled at her name. He didn't even want to go home to her. John originally thought Wally would break up with her, but he never did. What was keeping Wally tied to this girl? John's mind went to the obvious. Was she pregnant? Was she pregnant and Wally didn't want to leave her because of it even if it made him miserable?

It was almost visiting hours. Time to get the answers from the man himself. And John would make sure that Wally would not wiggle out of it.

"Wally, there's a visitor here to see you." A nurse popped in the room to say.

"Umm, Okay," Wally answered.

"It's nice that you get visitors," Marcus commented, "My family's ashamed of me, so they never visit."

"Sorry..." Wally tried.

"Nah, you're fine. I've got a book to read in the day room. See you later."

John and Marcus passed each other as John made his way into the room. Wally was nervous, bordering on scared. He wasn't sure what to say.

"Hey," John greeted.

"Hey," Wally echoed.

"We're worried about you, you know. We want to help make sure nothing like this happens again. And you can help us start by telling us what's going on between you and this girlfriend of yours."

Wally was shocked. He didn't want to answer. Who would want to be friends with someone who can't keep a secret?

"I can't tell you. She'll get mad," Wally said. Wrong choice of words.

"And you're afraid of what she'll do when she gets mad?"

"No! Okay, maybe a little. She yells a lot."

"She does more than just yelling, doesn't she?"

"She burned my PSP. But I shouldn't have been playing with it. She hates PlayStation."

"She burned your game system and you think it's your fault?"

"It is my fault. I should have known she wouldn't like it."

"Wally, she doesn't have the right to destroy your things. Does she hit you?"

"A couple of times by accident."

"Alright, does she make you do things you don't want to do?"

"..."

"Does this include sex?"

"..."

John realized that he wasn't getting through to Wally and decided to go for the bluntest question he could think of.

"Why do you stay with someone who hits you, rapes you, and destroys your things?"

Wally mumbled something in response, but John couldn't hear it very well.

"Could you repeat that, Wally?"

"I said, it's because I can't do any better! Are you happy now? Now she'll be mad at me!"

"Wally, what makes you think you can't do any better? Did she tell you this?"

Wally nodded miserably. John took a deep breath.

"Why don't you break up with her?"

"I tried, she won't let me."

"She doesn't need to agree to a break up. If you need help breaking up with her, I'll help you. Do you want me to be there when you break up with her? Because you are breaking up with her. This girl is dangerous."

"Yeah."

"Call me when you get out and let me know if you want me to be there. I'll see you later."

Wally sat in the same spot for a long time after John left. For the first time in months, he felt a spark of hope.

Author's Note: Not a filler chapter. Yay!


	6. Free

Author's Note: Been busy in college.

Disclaimer: Still own nothing.

 _Sweet freedom!_ Wally thought as he carefully walked out of the hospital. It was a nice day and John was waiting for him outside.

"You ready?" John asked.

"Yeah, let's do this," Wally answered.

Wally no longer felt trapped in his relationship with Madison. If anything, he felt relieved. Relieved that he wasn't alone anymore. Turns out there are some things being stuck at the hospital were good for.

"Can we get some food first?" Wally asked hopefully. It had been a while since he'd had anything since hospital food and just as long since he had his speed.

John shrugged.

"There's this really great diner that I haven't been to in forever..." Wally and John chatted on their way to the diner.

After a meal of burgers and fries, Wally was finally on his way home. Where Madison would be waiting. He almost shuddered at the thought. Almost. But he wasn't afraid of her anymore.

They came to the door of Wally's apartment building. Wally took a deep breath and started up the stairs. As expected, Madison was waiting at the door.

"Wally, who is this?" She demanded.

"This is my friend, John," Wally answered simply. "Madison, I don't think this is working out." He looked at John for support. John nodded. "Please get your stuff and leave."

"You're dumping me? You can't do that! You'll never find anyone else! Never! So you have to stay with me. Without me, you're worthless," Madison sneered. "Besides, if you dump me, I'll tell everyone that you raped me."

"And I'll show everyone this," John said as he pulled out a voice recorder. "Everyone will hear what you just told Wally. Do you want that?"

"You can do whatever you want. Wally can't dump me," Madison said loudly.

"Madison, it's over. I don't want to date you. I'm tired of walking on pins and needles. I want my life back! Get your stuff and go home!"

A surprised Madison took a step back, then steadied herself. "Fine," she said, "But don't come crying to me when you end up with nothing!"

To Wally's utter astonishment, Madison actually got her stuff without breaking anything. As she passed him with all her things, she whispered that he was an idiot for leaving her. But Wally didn't care. Because for the first time in a long time, he truly felt free.

Author's Note: It's not as long as I wanted it to be, but here it is. I might add another chapter as an epilogue someday, but for now, it's done. I hope you enjoyed!


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